Thursday, March 26, 2009
Do you return gifts through the mail after the holidays? Do you send birthday or holiday presents? Have you shipped an item you sold on an on-line auction site? If you do any of these things, you should know about safe shipping. It's always safe to ship harmless materials, but what about those that present hazards?
Good news! You can safely ship almost any material, provided you take the right protective measures. There are more than 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials that are safely shipped in the United States everyday. Since our lifestyles depend on these materials, from heating fuel, personal items such as cosmetics, to chemicals crucial to the economy, DOT has identified safe ways of packaging and shipping them.
A system of visual hazard communication, including labels, markings, placards, and shipping papers, lets drivers and rail/ vessel/ air crews know exactly which hazardous materials they are handling or transporting. That way, they know to transport your package in a way that protects it and allows them to take appropriate measures to prevent releases that can affect safety. And, if something does go wrong because of breakage or spillage, emergency responders use this visual communication system on the scene, to limit damage and protect lives including their own.
To put it simply, lives, safety, property, and the environment all depend on the safe transportation of hazardous materials. That's where you come in. Batteries and battery powered equipment can be shipped to prevent short circuits or damage that can result in a fire. Similar hazards can be prevented in the shipping of aerosols and many household goods. And even when incidents do happen, safe shipping helps responders minimize the damage from those incidents.
We all have access to hazardous materials. It is not just the big industrial shippers. Shipping undeclared hazmat endangers everybody in the transportation chain, and carries legal penalties. So don't be part of the problem when you ship a package be part of the solution.
Take the time to find out whether it is hazardous, and how to ship it safely! If you have a specific question on DOT's Hazardous Materials Regulations, or you aren't sure you have a hazardous material, contact the Hazardous Materials.
Source: http://phmsa.dot.gov/
Good news! You can safely ship almost any material, provided you take the right protective measures. There are more than 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials that are safely shipped in the United States everyday. Since our lifestyles depend on these materials, from heating fuel, personal items such as cosmetics, to chemicals crucial to the economy, DOT has identified safe ways of packaging and shipping them.
A system of visual hazard communication, including labels, markings, placards, and shipping papers, lets drivers and rail/ vessel/ air crews know exactly which hazardous materials they are handling or transporting. That way, they know to transport your package in a way that protects it and allows them to take appropriate measures to prevent releases that can affect safety. And, if something does go wrong because of breakage or spillage, emergency responders use this visual communication system on the scene, to limit damage and protect lives including their own.
To put it simply, lives, safety, property, and the environment all depend on the safe transportation of hazardous materials. That's where you come in. Batteries and battery powered equipment can be shipped to prevent short circuits or damage that can result in a fire. Similar hazards can be prevented in the shipping of aerosols and many household goods. And even when incidents do happen, safe shipping helps responders minimize the damage from those incidents.
We all have access to hazardous materials. It is not just the big industrial shippers. Shipping undeclared hazmat endangers everybody in the transportation chain, and carries legal penalties. So don't be part of the problem when you ship a package be part of the solution.
Take the time to find out whether it is hazardous, and how to ship it safely! If you have a specific question on DOT's Hazardous Materials Regulations, or you aren't sure you have a hazardous material, contact the Hazardous Materials.
Source: http://phmsa.dot.gov/
posted by transport blogs
@ 1:53 AM
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